Thursday Thirteen

Today is Thursday, which means it’s a very good time to create a Thursday Thirteen post – and the topic this week is 13 facts about The Urban Daddy.

I’ve been writing this blog since 2004. That makes for a very old blog, eh?

I have written 1,434 Blog posts for The Urban Daddy

I have a tax blog -for my real job – called inTAXicating, which I started in early 2008 and I have written 369 Canadian Tax posts for that site.

10. I used to work in the Federal Government, in the Canada Revenue Agency, for almost 11-years before resigning to take a managerial position in the private sector. The change was long overdue.

9. In the CRA, I collected taxes, trained employees, took 3-years of my accounting designation and then completed my MBA.

8. I don’t play many online games – after my wife freed me from my Cityville addition – I only play Tap Baseball, Clash of Clans and Tiny Tower Vegas.

7. I live near one of the most affluent neighbourhoods, in the largest city in Canada – the 5th largest in North America, Toronto

6. I ran for student council president of my university only to lose to some guy named Jian Ghomeshi It was a half-assed attempt, but fun nonetheless. I vaguely remember meeting him and his campaign manager in the main hall and one, or both of them, telling me that they were going to tear down my campaign posters and threatened me about something. I was wearing my cowboy boots (don’t judge me) at the time, and with them stood about 6 foot 2. I was NOT intimidated.

5. I’m fiscally conservative but hate guns, racism and drugs. I love common sense, saving money, and being upfront and honest.

3. I’m learning as I get older things I should have learned much younger. Foods, anxiety, ADD, how to treat those you love…

2. I love being a Dad. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. Love attending events and being there for the kids. Something I either didn’t have or don’t remember. It was a different time back then, but still.

1. I ran a left-handed students association at my university – the school gave us an office, and money to find areas where lefties were being discriminated against. Our main beef was that some of the largest lecture halls had no left-handed desks, or if they did, the desks were on the far-left side of the lecture hall. Not cool if you’re vision sucks like mine does.

Spring time is finally appearing here in Southern Ontario and aside from the increasing temperatures, here are the 13 most obvious ways to tell that Spring has Sprung.

Sports cars in need of muffler repair and convertible cars are zooming around, blasting their horrid music and looking for attention

A.L.L.E.R.G.I.E.S

People are wearing colours again! Yay. Winter is dreary enough and everyone in black makes it that much more bland and blah.

People begin to stink. Not from sweat, at least not yet, but now is the time of year when they think a little bit of cologne or perfume might be a good idea but it’s not. It’s horrid if I can smell it over a super-stuffy nose. (See 12)

9. TAXES!!! It’s tax time!! Don’t forget to file, even if you think you don’t owe. File, file, file! If you need help anywhere in Canada, search up and hit up inTAXicating.

8. Flips flops and PJ’s make their returns to coffee shops. In the winter it’s just too darn cold to roll out of bed and drive or walk to the local coffee shop, but not in the spring!

6. I see neighbours! Seriously, I cannot believe how little we get out in the winter – especially with kids programs keeping us out and around – I found out this morning that our neighbour had a baby and we didn’t even know she was pregnant. So hard to tell covered in a giant Canada Goose jacket.

5. Bikes everywhere! And I’ve mellowed over the years, so I want bikes and bike lanes everywhere. I also want safe and clean public transit and I want better roads and more parking for cars. I want everyone to commute and be happy and healthy and safe. Hey, City of Toronto… If you want business owners to thrive and survive, back off the parking tickets for people who park in actual spots. If they park illegally, or block traffic, tag and tow them, but let businesses earn money!

4. Joggers abound! I’ve always said that out-of-shape joggers (like myself) run at night when no one can see them shaking and bouncing around or hear them gasping for air. The fit joggers run during the day where everyone can see them. Whatever your motivation, just run!

3. My lawn kicks ass! My front lawn is very green and soft. I put the snow on it in the winter before the City salts the street or sidewalk and in the spring, and it makes a difference. It’s so nice, and I have a neighbour who doesn’t talk to anyone but I catch him walking across the street and touching my grass in awe. Love it!

2. Change! Changes come in spring. People clean their houses, change their jobs, their clothes, their demeanor, and even the homeless-looking guy who visits the Starbucks I frequent cut off his ridiculously long white beard. Wouldn’t have recognized him – looks somewhat respectable now – except for the same army fatigue pants he wears every day and the shmatta (towel?) he covers his head with.

1.Spring means an end to winter programs for my kids, so say goodbye to hockey, but it also means saying hello to baseball (call me “coach”) and to being able to throw a ball around and walk to park and shoot hoops, or go for a bike ride, and work at losing the winter gut and getting back into a shape that doesn’t resemble a pear.

After reading this post below at That’s What Anxious Mom Said, I felt compelled to add my own list below.

Some odd people visit my blog, and I don’t just mean those of you who pop in on a regular basis. More often that not, the terms search terms WordPress shows me that people used to get to this blog are fairly unusual. Sometimes they’re downright creepy. (Thank god I can’t see them all, or […]

It’s been a while since I’ve had the pleasure to compile such a list, but here are the 13 Things you WILL be talking about today (and tomorrow, etc)

You know you’re a Dad when… Breakfast on my way to a meeting this morning was: a handful of stale pretzels, a handful of peanuts, a Clementine orange and a container of 1-day-old cucumber slices.

Not busy enough on Twitter, US President Donald Trump is stirring up the debate on abortion with his fellow males. Donald, in less that 140 characters, I want to tell you this, “Stay out of my uterus!”

The “Doomsday clock” has moved to 11:58pm for the first time since like 1954. This means nothing to me, to be honest, and I didn’t even like the cartoon Doonsbury, so there!

5. GM is cutting 800 Canadian jobs and moving them to Mexico… Damn. I hope Trump doesn’t hear that. In retaliation, Canada has agreed to build a wall between Canada and Mexico. Damn you capitalism!!!

6. I don’t know where you live, but here in Toronto where we need road tolls to keep the 905’ers out (see wall building), we have pot holes the size of, well, Mexico. One such pot hole cost my wife her front tire and rim. Damn you Mexico!

Mary Tyler Moore passed away, and after being reacquainted with her show recently I came to realize that her TV feminism was inspiring and much needed. She will be missed.

The Toronto Maple Leafs do not stink… Am I dead???

9. I read somewhere that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s mother had met the Donald (see President Trump earlier) back in the 70’s. I thought the writer was trying to convince us that Donald Trump was his father, and when I told this to someone, they said, “Trump? No. Castro, yes! They even look alike!!” What?!?

New expression in The Urban Daddy dictionary; “Playing your trump card” Means saying whatever it takes to get what you want. Truth, lies, half-truths… whatever!

Trumpanomics. Putting America first. Hopefully Canada second. Could change direction at a moments Tweet and may or may not be accurate or true… Nobody knows…

2 hours before turning over reigns of the US to Trump, Former President Obama sent $221 million dollars to the Palestinian authority. It would be a shame if that money was not used to build infrastructure and was used by the “leadership” to acquire weapons, build tunnels or for their pockets. If you want your own state, start acting like responsible leaders and put your people first! As for Obama… Not cool!

(It’s my Trump calculations…) Tim Horton’s is opening up in… Gulp… Mexico. Don’t tell Trump. He’ll kick the coffee company out of the US. Or, those in the southern US will need a really long straw to sip those yummy Timmy’s beverages.

Ah, a snowy Thursday in Toronto, our second such day this year, and with winter not officially here until December 21st, I always worry that even in areas where there is a lot of snow people forget to apply common sense in many different areas of their lives when snow stays on the ground.

So today is the perfect day for me, to educate you, on the 13 Things You Need To Do Now That The Snow Has Arrived.

1. Make sure that you have cleared the sidewalk in front of your house! According to City By-laws you have 12 hours from the last snowflake to remove the snow and / or ice from the sidewalk in front, behind or beside your property.

2. Failure to remove snow and / or ice can result in a fine of up to $5000 under the Provincial Offences Act.

3. Anyone – strangers, neighbours, government workers, can call 311 to notify them if your snow and / or ice is not removed within 12 hours after a snowfall.

4. Thinking about clearing your snow onto the street? DON’T! Besides the obvious fact that it make driving that much more dangerous, it’s against the by-laws and you can be fined for doing this. Plus, it’s fairly obvious when your lawn (which loves the water in the spring) is flat the snow in the street in front of your house is densely packed compared to others.

5. If the City of Toronto has to send someone out to shovel or salt your sidewalk, you will be charged a fee for this “service: and if you do not pay it, it will be added to your property taxes.

6. Starting this year – 2014 – the City of Toronto is paying special attention to those mounds of snow you pile at the curb in front of your house because as the weather changes they pose a safety concern regarding visibility, and drivers trying to avoid them. Plus, by the mere fact that they are on the street means you are in violation of Section 719-5 of the Municipal Code. By-law officers might force you to remove it at your own expense or fine you.

7. Clean off your car before you drive it! All windows, the front and tail lights are essential to ensure you have complete visibility. The majority of vehicle – pedestrian accidents in the winter occur when drivers cannot fully see out of their windows and bump into people crossing the street.

8. I know it’s a pain in the butt for many of you, but you really do need to come to a full and complete stop at all traffic crossings when there is snow. Besides being the law, and potentially dangerous if you do not, by rolling through stops, or around corners you also run the risk of having to brake suddenly and sliding or spinning out of control, or worse, stopping only to have the car behind you slam into you, and then for you to hit someone as a result.

9. Signal. I prefer to refer to the turn signal as an “indicator” because while it may be law to signal before you turn, it’s nice and kind to indicate to other drivers what you intend to do with your vehicle. This is especially important if you are one of “those” drivers who do not feel the need to stop at every intersection as indicating your intentions keeps pedestrians safe and the cars around you less likely to want to roll down their windows and throw a snowball at your car.

10. Be extra courteous to those around you who are walking when you are driving. They are dealing with un-cleared sidewalks, and cold, or wind, plus heavy clothing and usually something in their hands. The LAST thing they need to do is wonder whether that car is a) going to stop, b) sees them c) start to proceed before they finish crossing the street.

If you hired a ploughing service to clean your driveway, make sure they are not falling out of favour with your neighbours or with the City by-laws.

Think about others! If your neighbour shovels your sidewalk when it snows, it might not be a smart idea to only shovel your piece of sidewalk when you are doing yours. Even if you are in a rush, make an effort to go a little onto their side, they’ll understand. But to put up that snow barrier while their side is still covered and yours is clean is a message to that neighbour that you are only thinking about yourself. Is that what you want them thinking? I’ve always said that it is better to accept the help of your neighbour than criticize them for where they put your snow, that you should have moved!

13. Put a smile on your face and be nice to others! Say hello to neighbours, strangers and passers by.

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